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DIY Light-Up Cuff Bracelet

February 24, 2014 4 Comments

 

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet at Hands Occupied

Etextiles are pretty cool, but somehow actually attempting an electronics project didn’t happen until this week. I’m so glad I finally took a workshop because etextiles are SO COOL. And not nearly as scary as I thought. Not by a long shot. Today’s tutorial covers the very basics of working with LED bulbs and creating a simple circuit with conductive thread to make a bracelet that lights up when you wear it.

I’ll reiterate that I’m a newbie at this, so I recommend also taking a look at these related projects before you begin if you’ve never tried extextiles: Make / Instructables. These sites’ instructions go more into the science I don’t feel qualified to attempt explaining. :) 

Supplies

3V watch-style battery
battery holder
conductive thread
3 LED bulbs
felt
regular thread
snap closure
needle
needle threader (optional)
scissors
needle nose pliers

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Directions

The first thing to learn when working with LEDs is the anatomy of a single bulb. There’s a long and a short wire attached to individual LEDs, and the long one is positive and the short one is negative. (Learn more about how LEDs work here.)

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Test each of your LEDs by placing the + side on the + side of your battery and the – side on the – side of your battery. You just want to ensure they work before you begin.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Cut a piece of felt into a 9.5 x 3.5 inch rectangle. Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise, and punch the LED’s legs through the very center of one of the layers of felt.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Open your folded felt rectangle back up, and using your needle nose pliers, bend the longer leg of your LED at right angles and the shorter leg into a spiral. Fold the legs so they lay flat against the felt, as shown. I found it helpful to have all my – ends pointing to the nearest raw edge of the felt rectangle, and the + ends, the other edge.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Sew your snaps to each end of your cuff using regular thread (there are more pictures of where I place mine in pictures below – I forgot to take some as I worked on the cuff, my apologies!). Thread your needle with conductive thread, and sew all of the – ends of the LEDs together. Then sew all of the + ends together in addition to sewing one of the snaps to the +’s.

Lost? Confused? Instructables has some great tips for making a similar project.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Here’s what the other side of my in-progress cuff looked like. Notice the placement of my snaps. :)

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

A close-up of the conductive thread making an appearance on the outside of my cuff. I kept it as subtle as possible, but that’s the challenge of working with extextiles – making them look good! The dashes of thread are visible here because they’re wrapped around the legs of the LED.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Slip your battery into its holder, making sure to put it in right side up (look for a + or –  before sliding in the battery). Sew the + end of the battery pack to the last + LED leg on one end.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

The last connection to be made to get your lights to illuminate are the second end of the battery holder to the snap that hasn’t yet had conductive thread sewn through it. Before you do that sewing, you’ve another step to do.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Fold your rectangle lengthwise. Using regular thread, whip stitch along the short edge of the non-battery end of the bracelet and then the long side, stopping just before the battery holder.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Mostly sewing up the bracelet will help you sew the snap to the battery pack.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

Here’s how I sewed the battery & snap, despite the battery being on one side of the felt and the snap being on the other.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

At this point you can test your bracelet to see if it lights up by touching the snaps together. If your circuit was sewn correctly, you should be all set. If not, you’ll need to backtrack, locate the issue and try again. My first LED bracelet took me a few tries to get right!

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

When you know your bracelet is functioning properly, you can whip stitch around the last of the open ends.

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

I like to leave a little slot for replacing the battery as needed. It’s a pretty simple little bit of construction, but useful!

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet

So, what do you think? Thumbs up? Too crazy for you? Or does this now seem doable? Maybe in a few years or after a few beers (for courage ;)) ?

DIY Light-up Cuff Bracelet at Hands Occupied

Filed Under: DIY Style, Embroidery, How-to Tagged With: bracelet, crafts, cuff bracelet, diy, etextiles, LED, led bracelet, Sewing, simple circuit, style, wearable technology

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Allison @ Dream a Little Bigger

    February 24, 2014 at 3:24 pm

    Oh my gosh, this is Amazing! I want to do this, like, yesterday. Thanks for all of the pics, too. This looks totally doable :)

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 24, 2014 at 4:00 pm

      Right? I had been so scared of LEDs and then I took at class at my library (which has a maker space because Chicago is the BEST ;) ). So easy. Just lining up the +s & -s correctly is the trick! :)

      Reply
  2. Louise

    January 27, 2018 at 10:22 pm

    Thanks very much! I want to attach LEDs to an 18″-doll sweater or tee; I’m imagining a simple outline design. Any suggestions or sources?

    Reply
    • Heidi

      February 1, 2018 at 9:08 am

      When I did this LED project with my library teens, I ended up getting most of my supplies on Amazon (for grant billing purposes that are beyond my comprehension, ha). At Christmas this year, I made my father-in-law a solar powered LED stocking, and the biggest issue I ran into was finding quality supplies. That’s the biggest thing to watch out for – low quality supplies that break too easily.

      I hope this helps! If you want to discuss this more in-depth, feel free to email me at handsoccupied-at-gmail-dot-com.

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

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Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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